Posts Tagged ‘Southern’
Sunday, February 1st, 2009
88 / B+
Tasted by Mike Supple - 15 Apr 2008
Very bright in the glass with a thick purple core surrounded by a fuchsia rim. Fleshy and sweet in both the aromas and flavors. Sweet strawberry wraps around black cherry and blackberry with a nice hint of black pepper. The wine is smooth and soft as it enters the mouth bringing a smoky, gamy undertone of flavors to support the fruit.
This is the perfect wine for bacon cheeseburgers. Rhone wines bring a great punch of spice and smoke in to the fruit, and have a lot more structure and balance than Grenache or Shiraz from most New World producers. This wine is a blend of 60% Grenache and 40% Syrah. The Grenache gives it good acidity and fruit-forward nature while the Syrah provides backbone and pepper spice. This is not an overly complex wine, but it’s a fantastic introduction into the blended styles that the Southern Rhone has to offer. The winery, Paul Jaboulet Aine, was recently purchased by a family famous for their Bordeaux (Chateau La Lagune), so look for some changes and even better quality in the upcoming vintages.
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Tags: 2006, 45, aine, black, blackberry, cherry, Cotes, du, france, fuchsia, game, grenache, jaboulet, parallele, Paul, pepper, purple, red, red wine, Rhone, smoke, Southern, strawberry, Syrah, wine
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Sunday, February 1st, 2009
91 / A+
Tasted by Mike Supple - 10 Nov 2008
Intense, dark purple core with a ruby and purple rim. The aromas are bright and rich with plum and blackberry fruits surrounded by toasted hazelnut, a smack of white pepper and a hint of scorched earth. Fruity and lush on the palate with intense wild blueberry surrounded by earth and white pepper. Medium bodied with great balance of fruit, acid and tannins. This is an incredibly easy wine to drink with a velvety smooth feel and a long, lingering finish with a flair of vanilla.
Delas has done it again, hands down producing one of the best values from France in years! 2007 is an outstanding vintage for the Rhone, and this is an impressively complex wine that packs a ton of flavors. Despite the complexity, it is restrained enough to sip by itself or match up with all kinds of foods from cheeses to pastas to a big juicy burger. The Delas Cotes du Rhone is always a great wine, but they have clearly outdone themselves this year. Grab several bottles now to have on hand for yourself and to impress any winos that may be coming to dinner. (If you buy a bottle, drop me a line and I’ll be there tomorrow!)
A blend of 75% Syrah and 25% Grenache. This just started to hit the country, so if you don’t see it in your local shop right away, ask for it and come back. They make a lot, so there’s plenty to go around!
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Tags: 2007, blackberry, blueberry, Cotes, delas, du, earth, esprit, france, freres, hazelnut, pepper, plum, purple, red, red wine, Rhone, ruby, saint, scorched, Southern, st, toast, white, wine
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Sunday, February 1st, 2009
91 / A+
Tasted by Mike Supple - 13 May 2008
Dark ruby and purple core with a bright ruby rim. Chocolate and fresh oak over rich dark fruit, crushed violets and a hint of spice and game. Orange zest and ripe red cherries on the front palate. Full-bodied with round tannins. Just a hint of black truffle and pepper spice over plum, dark cherry and a baker’s chocolate finish.
Incredibly complex for a Cotes du Rhone. Approachable now and will continue to improve for another 3-5 years.
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Tags: 2005, baker, baker's, beaucastel, black, chateau, cherry, chocolate, Cotes, coudoulet, crushed, de, du, france, game, oak, orange, pepper, plum, purple, red, red wine, Rhone, ruby, Southern, spice, truffle, violet, wine, zest
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Sunday, January 25th, 2009
84 / B-
Tasted by Mike Supple - 18 Mar 2008
Medium ruby core with a touch of garnet in the rim. Very perfumy with flowers and fresh herbs over darker charcoal and black cherry. Soft and round in the mouth with a nice lingering dark fruit finish. A blend of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre.
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Tags: 2004, black, Blend, charcoal, chateau, cherry, Costieres, dark, dry, flower, france, fresh, fruit, garnet, grenache, herb, Lamargue, mourvedre, Nimes, perfume, red, red wine, Rhone, round, ruby, soft, Southern, Syrah, table
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Sunday, January 25th, 2009
88 / B
Tasted by Mike Supple - 18 Mar 2008
Black and ruby core with a lighter rim. Sweet black licorice and black cherry over wet stone aromas. Medium bodied with dark flavors of stewed plums, cassis, dark anise and a hint of game.
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Tags: 2003, anis, black, Blend, cassis, cherry, Cotes, cuvee, Domaine, france, game, Lazaret, licorice, light, medium, plum, Prestige, red, red wine, Rhone, ruby, Southern, stewed, stone, sweet, table, Ventoux, Vieux
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Wednesday, January 21st, 2009
91 / B+
Tasted by Mike Supple - 19 Aug 2008
Medium purple core with a soft ruby and pink rim. Blueberry and boysenberry fruit aromas jump out of the glass, supported by darker hints of earth and charred vanilla oak. Spicy crushed black pepper and dried anise with a touch of flint linger in the air. In the mouth this wine is impressively explosive yet retains an almost impossible elegance. Tons of black pepper spice up front are quickly joined by blackberry and raspberry fruits surrounded by orange zest. Ripe tannins provide excellent structure to support the fruit. The finish of minerals and berries is long and lingering.
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Tags: 2006, anise, berry, black, blackberry, Blend, blueberry, boysenberry, Christins, earth, Fils, flint, france, mineral, oak, orange, pepper, Perrin, raspberry, red, red wine, Rhone, Southern, spice, Vacqueryas, vanilla, Vieilles, Vignes, zest
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Wednesday, January 21st, 2009
89 / A-
Tasted by Mike Supple - 14 Feb 2008
Dark purple core with a tinge of pink on the rim. A bit reductive on the nose, but gives way to blueberry, raspberry, black cherry and lighter strawberry aromas after a few minutes. Cedar spice, leather and slate support the dark fruits. On the palette the wine is medium to full bodied leading to fairly bold tannic structure on the finish. Perfumed notes of baby powder and rose petals lead to plum and black cherry on the mid-palate with a darker finish of cedar, leather, wet earth and slate.
This wine takes a very long time to show its true value right now. It needs to be open for several hours before being agreeable, but once open for a couple of days the aromas and flavors really started to come out. Good quality wines from Chateauneuf often cost a lot of money. This is priced very reasonably and will be a very good wine with another 3 or so years in the bottle. However, if you don’t have that patience, pour it into a decanter (or any large pitcher with space for oxygen) and give it several hours.
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Tags: blueberry, cedar, Chateauneuf, Chateauneuf du Pape, cherry, cinsault, clos, Clos de l'Oratoire, france, grenache, leather 2005, mike supple, mourvedre, oratoire, Pape, raspberry, red wine, Rhone, rose, rouge, Southern, strawberry, Syrah, wine
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Wednesday, January 21st, 2009
91 / A
Tasted by Mike Supple - 14 Jan 2008
Ruby core with a touch of crimson on the rim. Blueberry aromas with blackberry, raspberry and a touch black cherry with sweet violet floral aromas, black pepper, a hint of leather over wet earth. Smooth and dark with very impressive balance for a 2003 (warm vintages raise ripeness levels, often throwing off the balance of fruit and alcohol). Dark rich fruits are backed by a solid core of baker’s chocolate, leather and sweet tobacco. Medium bodied with a medium length finish. Drink now or in the next 4 years. Outstanding wine with steak and fries!
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Tags: 2003, Autard, baker, black, blackberry, blueberry, Chateauneuf, cherry, chocolate, Domaine, earth, floral, france, fruit, leather, Pape, Paul, pepper, raspberry, red wine, Rhone, ruby, Southern, sweet, tobacco, violet
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